17 replies to this topic

[victorludorum]

I am fitting a minispares replacement fuel pump to my 2000 mpi, but where the original pump has a bullet connection block, this generic one just has two spade connectors. I just rang minispares and the guy assures me that it's safe, but I just wanted a second opinion from the forumites as this seems a little dangerous to me. I know the pump is immersed, but I've been told that when the fuel runs low this is not the case and it causes overheating. I'm a little worried about putting this unit in to be honest...

[Steve220]

Yes, it's fine, you'll find most connectors to fuel pumps have no seal.

[victorludorum]

Will a standard plastic covered spade connector be ok, or should I just go with bare metal as the plastic might rot I guess?

[Sam14]

Try and ignite a match immersed in petrol.

Only a spark will cause any 'danger'.

The fumes are ignition not the 'liquid' of petrol

[Sam14]

So in other words it will be fine

[Steve220]

Will a standard plastic covered spade connector be ok, or should I just go with bare metal as the plastic might rot I guess?

Even if you covered it with a plastic sleeve, the fuel will still get to the metal.

[victorludorum]

Well it's in now and seems to be running well. Hopefully there'll be no explosions soon

 

Thanks for all the confirmations chaps!

[Mrfleming344]

Could you give me the part number or link for the fuel pump please.

[peter-b]

Where I work we do roadside breakdowns and see a lot of failed in tank pumps. I have seen pumps that have been so hot the anodising is black, ones were the wires have burnt clean off, none of them blew up. You'll notice on must of them the earth (-) connector is bigger, I think that may be to do with making the positive (+) fail first under overload.

 

link to pump. http://www.minispare...rch/classic/mpi pump.aspx|Back to search

Edited by peter-b, 23 August 2015 - 05:34 AM.

[Mrfleming344]

Cheers mate, was it hard to fit?

[Steve220]

You need to remove the fuel tank. Once it's out, it's very straight forward. Download the MPi workshop manual from the useful link section and it will help no end.

[Mrfleming344]

Much appreciated

[victorludorum]

Taking the tank out is a bit of a pain, but it's the first time I've done that, so it's not suprising. There were no instructions with the pump, but it's pretty logical. I had to hacksaw about an inch off of the inlet pipe so that I could slot the new pump in to the cage type unit; you then trim a piece of fuel hose (supplied with the pump) and connect the two. You have to cut the two wires and fit spade connectors so that they fit the new pump, click on the filter (which takes a little bit of force) and that's it. Not hard really, but not a drop-in replacement either.

 

In response to peter-b, the two spade connectors at the top of the pump had blackened, so my old one was definitely running hot. Although it wasn't dead, I'm pretty sure it was on its way out as it seems the logical answer to the recent problems the car's been having. Hopefully I haven't just changed a perfectly good pump...

[victorludorum]

@peter-b You've got me worried now as I'm sure it was the positive terminal that was bigger than the negative...

[victorludorum]

After a bout of OCD, I decided to re-check the connections on the pump as I was sure that the + terminal is bigger than the - one. Sure enough, my memory hadn't failed me and this is indeed the case with the minspares pump. I rang them to check that this was the case and that I hadn't got a rogue one, and they confirmed that that + is bigger than the -